Mick Fanning before the Hurley Pro at Trestles. – WSL / Sean Rowland
Trestles! The epitome of high-performance surfing, the epicenter of the surfing community and the next stop on the Word Surf League’s World Championship Tour.
It’s one of the most versatile waves on the planet, suiting both rail-to-rail power surfing and the aerial attack of the new age, making this fantasy pick exceptionally difficult.
The competition kicked off yesterday with a solid mix of three swells that showed up early and will hopefully keep waves in the head-high range all the way to the final.
So over the past week or so, I have been glued to social media in between surf sessions trying to see who’s been preparing. The constant shuffle of the Round 1 heat draw threw a stick in my spokes a few times, too. So with that all that being said, here are my team picks for the Hurley Lowers Pro.
Fantasy Surfer
*Once again, the values presented for each surfer are solely for this event and may vary between individuals.
Kelly Slater — $11,000,000
Slater has won three of the last five WCT events at Lowers. He is sitting in sixth place on the Jeep Leaderboard with a little over 6,000 points from the top spot. It’s a fierce combo of experience and motivation that’ll have this guy fired up and going far.
Julian Wilson — $9,000,000
Wilson is on a roll. He’s already made it into three finals this year so far, which is more than anyone else. But, he hasn’t won one yet and I think this is Wilson’s event to win. With conditions expected to be a little bigger, his rail game along with his smooth style above the lip is going to make him the surfer to beat, just watch his new edit, “Drive Fast & Take Chances.”
Filipe Toledo — $7,750,000
Toledo is the overwhelming favorite going into the event. He won the WQS 10,000 event, the Oakley Lowers Pro, earlier in the year. He has also set up camp in San Clemente, moving from Brazil last year to be closer to his sponsors and the surfing world, i.e. Trestles. Toledo is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
John John Florence — $7,250,000
Back from injury and probably still fired up from his “Heat of the Year” in Tahiti against Gabriel Medina which sent him home earlier than anyone expected, Florence is ready to take a stab at the top spot again. And if the pictures and videos that are popping up on my Instagram feed are any indication, he’s looking at a Quarterfinal finish at the least.
Jeremy Flores — $4,750,000
Well, I can’t use his win in Tahiti to convince anyone, but how about a second place finish at the aforementioned Oakley Lowers Pro. Flores has really turned his ’CT career around this year, and he proved that even a serious head injury wasn’t going to stop that momentum. He’s been soaking up the sun and avoiding the Labor Day crowds by surfing down in Mexico, so you can bet he will be relaxed and confident when he throws the jersey on.
Kolohe Andino — $4,500,000
What can I say about Andino? So he hasn’t had the greatest year so far, but don’t dismiss him just yet. San Clemente is Andino’s hometown and there’s always an advantage to surfing at home.
Keanu Asing — $3,750,000
Asing is having a pretty decent rookie year. What I admire most about Asing is his adaptability. At the start of J-Bay, he seemed to struggle with the speed and flow aspect, using two pumps in his bottom turn and just lagging behind sections. But, by the end of his Round 5 exit he looked comfortable linking together turns and making the most out of the wave. The same thing happened in Tahiti, he was dropping straight and bottom turning into the smaller west bowls, but then in his last heat he was knifing the takeoffs and throwing himself into heavier pits. Long story short, expect Asing to continue to adapt and turn heads doing it.
Ian Crane — $1,500,000
Crane is the wildcard pick for the event. The hometown hero, you could say. He has had this opportunity before and obviously didn’t disappoint. He has his hands full, but with Adriano de Souza holding true to his Round 1 losing pattern Crane could see himself straight into Round 3.
WSL Fantasy League
Tier A: Kelly Slater and Filipe Toledo
Tier B: John John Florence and…
Taj Burrow – Burrow won this event in 2013 and has made it to at least Round 5 since 2010. This is his last event until Hawaii, announcing earlier that he would be opting out of the European leg of the Tour with a baby on the way, so he should be going out with a bang.
Italo Ferreira – Ferreira is way out in front for the “Rookie of the Year” race and he is just getting better. He has to get past John John in his Round 1 heat if he wants a break before Round 3, but either way Ferreira will most likely be in the Quarterfinals.
Gabriel Medina – Medina is back. He has shaken off the pressure that was bestowed upon him early in the year, being the first Brazilian World Champ, and he looks to be surfing radically and just having fun with it.
Tier C: Kolohe Andino and…
Ricardo Christie – I’m not giving up on this guy. He has some of the highest heat totals out of the whole Tour, but those all happen to be Round 2 performances. Christie has the skills he just needs a bit more luck this time. Plus the WSL format favors wave points, so you want him on your team even if he is out in Round 2.
